THE NIBBLE BlogAdventures In The World Of Fine Food2015-03-03T19:37:31Zhttp://blog.thenibble.com/feed/atom/WordPressadminhttp://www.thenibble.comhttp://blog.thenibble.com/?p=626282015-03-03T19:37:31Z2015-03-03T12:59:15Z

Perhaps eight years ago, we saw an article in a trade magazine about a pilot pizza chain in California. All the pizza varieties were served in cones made of pizza dough. The founder’s concept was to make it easy to walk down the street eating from a cone instead of a drippy slice.

We loved the idea, but to our knowledge, the business never went anywhere.*

Recently, we discovered a pizza cone kit from Pizzacraft that enables you to turn out pizza cones at home. The kit is less than $19, is easy to use and includes everything you need to make two pizza cones at a time (you supply the food items).

You can eat most any food in a cone, and as an alternative to pizza dough, can make waffle cones on a round waffle maker or a pizzelle maker. (Leave the sugar out of the recipe unless you’re using them for dessert.)

Right after we published this, we read today’s newsletter from Nation’s Restaurant News and learned, by pure coincidence, about Kono Pizza. The franchise chain has breakfast, lunch/dinner and dessert cones. The concept was created in Italy and is “popular around the world,” with 140 locations. The first franchise just opened in Edison, NJ, with Orlando and Iowa scheduled next.

When you hear the words “ham salad,” you think of diced ham, possibly the leftovers from a holiday ham or Sunday dinner.

Diced or minced ham is mixed with diced bell pepper, celery and onion or other favorite raw vegetables; perhaps with some hard-boiled eggs, boiled potatoes, pickle relish or green peas; and bound with mayonnaise (we use a mayo-Dijon blend).

It’s one of those traditional Anglo-American sandwich salads, along with chicken salad, egg salad and tuna salad.

It’s also served sans bread on a bed of green salad ingredients, perhaps with a scoop of another protein salad or a starch-based salad such as potato salad, macaroni salad or chopped vegetable salad.

But there’s another, more sophisticated way to serve ham salad: as a first course with prosciutto or Serrano ham.

Prosciutto, or Parma ham, is classically served as a first course with melon in Italian cuisine.

At Olio e Piú in New York’s Greenwich Village, the chef takes a different direction, adding a salad of vinaigrette-dressed bitter greens (we like baby arugula, watercress or a mix) atop the prosciutto and topping it with some fresh-shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

WHAT ARE BITTER GREENS

Bitter greens are part of the larger family of leafy greens, which include the lettuces, known as “sweet greens.” The bitterness can be mild or strong. Greens harvested earlier in the season tend to be less bitter than more mature plants harvested later.

Many bitter greens are dark green in color, although some are pale (endive, frisée) and some are red or have red accents (amaranth, chard, radicchio). If you like your veggies, you’ve likely had more than a few of these:

Amaranth

Arugula

Belgian endive

Beet greens

Broccoli rabe/rapini

Chard

Chicory

Cress

Collard greens

Curly endive

Dandelion greens

Escarole

Frisée

Kale

Mizuna

Mustard greens

Nettles

Radicchio

Spinach

Tatsoi

Turnip greens

Not all “bitter greens” are green. Above, white endive and red endive, the latter also known as radicchio. Photo courtesy Endive.com.

PROSCIUTTO & SERRANO HAMS: THE DIFFERENCES

Both prosciutto and Serrano hams are dry-cured: salted and hung in sheds to cure in the air. Both are served in very thin slices. Country ham, preferred in the U.S., is smoked, and a very different stye from dry-cured hams.

While prosciutto and Serrano hams can be used interchangeably, they are different.

Prosciutto, from Italy, is cured for 10-12 months with a coating of lard. Serrano, from Spain, can be cured for up to 18 months (and at the high end, for 24 months). The differing times and microclimates affect the amount of wind that dries the hams, and thus the character of the final products.

They are made from different breeds of pigs: Prosciutto can be made from pig or wild boar, whereas Serrano is typically made from a breed of white pig.

The diet of the pigs differs. Parma pigs eat the local chestnuts, and are also fed the whey by-product of Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Italian-made prosciutto is never made with nitrates. American made prosciutto, as well as both domestic and Spanish Serrano-style hams, can have added nitrates.

Prosciutto is considered more salty and fatty. Serrano is considered more flavorful and less fatty.

March 1 is National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day. Fudge a recipe so easy to make that we urge you to try it. You most likely have the ingredients on hand, and it will take less than 15 minutes to prepare.

There are different ways to make fudge, using butter, cream, whole milk or sweetened condensed milk. This recipe, adapted from one by Alton Brown, uses butter.

Prep time is 10 minutes, cook time is 4 minutes, plus two hours in the fridge.

RECIPE: PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

Ingredients For 64 Pieces

8 ounces unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

16 ounces confectioners’ sugar

Optional: chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, honey roasted peanuts

Preparation

1. COMBINE the butter and peanut butter in a 4-quart microwave-safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 2 minutes on high. Stir and microwave on high for 2 more minutes. Use caution when removing this mixture from the microwave, it will be very hot.

2. ADD the vanilla and sugar to the peanut butter mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. The mixture will become hard to stir and lose its sheen. Add optional inclusions.

3. SPREAD into a buttered 8 x 8-inch pan lined with parchment paper. Fold the excess parchment paper so it covers the surface of the fudge and refrigerate until cool, about 2 hours.

4. CUT into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature for a week.

Milwaukie, Oregon, founded in 1847 on the banks of the Willamette River and now a suburb of Portland, is also known as the the birthplace of the Bing cherry. But soon, it may be known as the birthplace of Dave’s Killer Bread.

Dave’s Killer Bread is “the best bread in the universe,” according to the company website.

While we might add other favorite breads in the tie for “best,” Dave’s Killer Bread is up there. It’s the #1, best-selling organic bread in the U.S.

The line of organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, vegan whole grain breads began 10 years ago with Blues Bread (with blue cornmeal). You can tell how much the locals love “DKB”: That original loaf has expanded to 14 different killer breads ranging in flavor and texture, plus dinner rolls and a whole grain cinnamon roll. The line now sold nationwide.

We tried samples of two varieties and are converts. This is the best seeded, whole grain bread we can imagine. We wouldn’t use anything else for sandwiches and toast.

We are a huge fan of hummus. We can easily eat one 8-ounce package a day. We often make a meal of hummus and crudités. It’s a nutritious* meal when we don’t want to cook or eat anything more elaborate.

But there’s so much more to do with this versatile spread than dipping vegetables or pita chips, or garnishing falafel. Here are some of the ways we’ve used it. Feel free to add your own!

20+ WAYS TO USE HUMMUS BEYOND DIPPING

Hummus For Breakfast

In an omelet with diced tomatoes, olives, bell pepper, onions, mushrooms or other favorite.

On a breakfast tostada, topped with sautéed greens and a fried egg.

In scrambled eggs or omelets: Stir a spoonful of hummus into the beaten eggs.

On an English muffin sandwich with fried, scrambled or hard-boiled eggs and some raw spinach or arugula leaves.

Use hummus on a sandwich instead of mustard or mayo, and check out these 20+ variations on a hummus sandwich.

Hummus For Lunch Or Dinner

As a healthier sandwich spread, instead of mayo (or mix some mayo into the hummus). Check out our 20+ ways to make a hummus sandwich.

In tuna, chicken or egg salad instead of mayo.

On a turkey burger or veggie burger.

On flatbread or pizza, with artichoke hearts, mozzarella or jack cheese, olives or sautéed vegetables—bell peppers, mushrooms, onion, tomatoes. Bake at 425°F for 10 minutes; top with fresh herbs.

As a garnish for grilled or roasted fish, lamb, pork, portabello mushrooms or poultry. Alternatively, spread a light coat of garlic hummus, olive oil and sea salt over the protein before cooking.

As a sauce for kebabs.

In a vegetable pasta salad, instead of mayonnaise.

As a sauce for hot pasta: toss with hummus and season with cracked black pepper and fresh chives or parsley.

As a salad dressing: Mix with vinegar, and salt and pepper.

On a crouton (toast a slice of baguette) with a salad or bowl of soup.

Hummus For Appetizers & Snacks

On a mixed appetizer plate: Mediterranean inspired with babaganoush, tabbouleh, feta and Greek olives; or with conventional favorites like pickled beets and other pickled vegetables, three bean salad, deviled eggs, etc.

In deviled eggs: Mix the yolks with hummus instead of mayo; or stuff them entirely with hummus.

Are you hungering for your portrait in pizza? Commission one from Domenico Crolla.

A native of Glasgow, Scotland, where his Italian-born father Alfredo had a café, Chef Crolla graduated from the Scottish Hotel School and launched his first restaurant, a pizzeria.

His next Glasgow restaurant, Italmania, became Scotland’s very first designer pizza emporium. It closed in 2008 to be replaced with a full-service Italian restaurant, Bella Napoli.

But the thrill of pizza remains, especially in Chef Crolla’s pizza portraits of celebrities from Beyoncé to Andy Warhol (how Andy would have loved that!) He even turned the iconic photo of Prince William, Duchess Kate and baby Prince George into pizza art.

Don’t think of him as a pizza chef, but as a culinary artist.

The Pope in pizza. Photo courtesy Domenico Crolla.

When he isn’t creating pizza art or running his restaurants, Chef Crolla judges cooking contests across the globe.

Many of us use parchment paper to line baking sheets. But if you haven’t yet used that parchment for en papillote cooking, you’re in for a treat: less mess and fewer calories, for starters, along with juicier, moister food.

Cooking en papillote (pah-pee-YOHT), French for “in parchment,” is a classic technique where food, often in individual portions, is enclosed in a folded pouch and steamed in the oven.

This simple yet refined culinary tradition works by trapping the moisture from the food in the pouch. It helps the food cook quickly, with little or no added fat, without losing flavor and retaining luscious aromas.

And there’s no pot or pan to clean. Just dispose of the pouch.

The technique dates to the early days of cooking food, where people took local foliage—banana leaves, corn husks and grape leaves, for example—and wrapped food in them prior to placing them on the fire. The leaves/husks took the place of pots and pans.

These days in the U.S., aluminum foil and parchment paper are the wrappings of choice, and the food is placed in the oven (or microwave) along with herbs and/or other seasonings. No special equipment is required. Poultry, seafood and vegetables are popular foods for en papillote cooking.

You’ll immediately discover the joy of infusion. Topping a piece of fish with a slice of lemon or fresh herbs infuses the protein with those flavors. You’ll have fun playing with the flavors of broths, herbs, juices and spices.

Steaming en papillote (pah-pee-YOHT) requires no special equipment, just the food and a roll of parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Parchment can be used with any food, but is especially important when steaming foods with a salt rub or acid (citrus juice, vinegar). Anything but the lightest touch of the latter can cause discoloration or a chemical aroma from reaction with aluminum.

Another benefit of parchment is environmental: it decomposes easily in landfill.

And if you’re not good at folding paper into pouches, Paper Chef has a solution: parchment bags. Just put the ingredients inside and fold the top to close. (See the photo below.)

Why doesn’t the paper bag or folded pocket leak? Parchment baking paper has been treated with an acid and coated with silicone. The result is a liquid-proof, burn-resistant paper (the parchment will brown but not burn, up to 450°F). It’s also nonstick; hence, its popular use as a baking sheet and cake pan liner.

How To Buy Parchment Paper

You can buy parchment in rolls, bags and individually-cut sheets. Rolls provide the most flexibility for baking sheets as well as pockets.

What about bleached versus unbleached parchment paper?

Environmentalists go for unbleached parchment. It’s more expensive, but also more environmentally friendly.

Bleached parchment uses not only chlorine, but typically employs both chlorine and Quilon®, a cheaper alternative to silicone.

Quilon is a chemical solution that contains chrome, a heavy metal. When incinerated it becomes toxic and leaves trace elements. It is approved by the FDA and the USDA, but that doesn’t mean it’s environmentally friendly.

If you have leisure time this weekend, get some parchment and cook en papillote. You can start with these videos from PaperChef.com, which also has plenty of recipes.

No more need to fold pouches: Just add the ingredients to parchment bags. Photo courtesy PaperChef.

How about something special for National Strawberry Day (February 27th): strawberry salsa.

In addition to serving with tortilla chips, strawberry salsa is delicious over grilled chicken, fish or pork.

This recipes was adapted from TasteOfHome.com. You can customize it by adding other fruits to the strawberries. Mango, grapes, pineapple, pomegranate arils and stone fruits are a few options.

TIP: Wear disposable gloves when cutting and seeding hot chiles; then clean the cutting board and knife, wash your gloved hands and dispose of the gloves. Accidentally touching your eye with the most minute amount of capsaicin fom the chile is an experience you never want to have.

Kumquats are the size of large olives. Photo courtesy White Flower Farm.

How can it be that we’ve never published a piece about the kumquat? Today’s tip remedies that oversight.

Native to China and now grown throughout Southeast Asia (plus the U.S. and elsewhere), the kumquat is a tiny citrus fruit that is entirely edible, skin and all. The orange flesh is juicy, acidic and tart (some varieties have are more tart than others). The skin is fragrant and sweet.

Kumquats grow on small trees or bushes. They looking like wee, oval oranges, the size and shape of a large olive.

The word “kumquat” comes from the Cantonese kin kü, meaning golden orange. The earliest historical reference appears in China in the 12th century.

The tiny fruits were introduced to Europe in 1846 by Robert Fortune, a collector for the London Horticultural Society. Not long after, they arrived in North America, and found a happy growing ground in Florida.

HOW TO SERVE KUMQUATS

People who have never tried kumquats may look at them in the produce aisle, wondering what to do with them. As a citrus fruit, they work wherever other citrus fruits are employed. You don’t peel them or juice them, but serve them halved, sliced or whole. Some opportunities: